1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wall hanging devices and more particularly pertains to an adjustable wall hanger for adjustably suspending an object from a wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of wall hanging devices is well known in the prior art. Despite the myriad designs for picture hangars which crowd the field of issued patents, the most common picture hangars are still those which are fabricated as a generally J-shaped hook from a single bent metal strip, having a pair of opposed axially-aligned holes therein on an inclined axis for mounting the hook to a vertical surface and an upwardly-bent portion at the bottom thereof for holding a cable or wire. It appears that cost, rather than improved utility or function, is the overriding force in the purchase of picture hanging devices by consumers.
While the prior art wall hanging devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the prior art does not disclose an adjustable wall hanger for adjustably suspending an object from a wall, which may be inexpensively manufactured and which includes a linear ratchet portion having parallel, outwardly-facing tracks securable to a wall surface and a pawl-bracket portion, rotatable about a horizontal axis, slidably positionable along the tracks and including both a pawl for engaging the linear ratchet portion and a depending hook for suspending an object therefrom.
In these respects, the adjustable wall hanger according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of adjustably suspending an object from a wall.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of wall hanging devices now present, in the prior art, the present invention provides a new adjustable wall hanger which provides for vertical adjustability of a hanging object. The new vertically adjustable wall hanger includes a main body that is securable to a vertical surface with mounting fasteners (such as screws, nails, or other similar fasteners) and an adjustable bracket. The main body includes a pair of mounting apertures and is generally symmetrical about a plane passing through the axes of the mounting apertures. The main body also includes a vertically-oriented linear ratchet having a plurality of teeth, and a pair of parallel, outwardly-facing, spaced-apart peripheral tracks or grooves. Each of the tracks is open at the top of the main body. The adjustable bracket has a front portion with a pawl for engaging any of the teeth of the linear ratchet, and a pair of laterally-spaced, opposed, rearward-facing ears. Each of the ears has a cylindrical locator pin that is axially aligned with and faces the locator pin of the opposing ear. The locator pins being spaced apart so that both may simultaneously enter and engage the tracks at the top of the main body and slide within them, thereby retaining the adjustable bracket slidably attached to the main body. The locator pins allow the adjustable bracket to be upwardly rotated about an adjustment axis passing through the center of each locator, so that the pawl may be disengaged from the linear ratchet and the adjustable bracket moved up and down within the tracks. When the adjustable bracket has been downwardly rotated, and the pawl has once again engaged a tooth of the linear ratchet, gravity ensures that the pawl remains securely engaged with tooth. The front portion of the adjustable bracket also incorporates an upwardly-facing transverse groove, which is sized to receive a picture frame hanging cable or wire. Both the main body and the adjustable bracket are preferably fabricated from a structural polymeric xe2x80x9cplasticxe2x80x9d material, such as polystyrene, ABS, acrylic, or poly vinyl chloride, via an injection molding process. Such method of manufacture ensures that the components may be produced cheaply and with little variabiltiy.